Natali Yudekevich

It’s the last week in Dharamsala; my emotions are running all around. On the one hand I miss my family and friends, have exams to complete and I miss "the rush" of the big city. On the other hand, the peaceful community that unites lives and grows despite everything.

My volunteer placement is at "CHOICE", the main goal of this unique NGO is to educate and create awareness among the Tibetan people in exile about HIV/AIDS, an epidemic which has no boundaries. The community here has the third highest number of people living with HIV, with an estimated 2.5 million people in India with HIV/AIDS. Volunteering at “CHOICE” has opened my eyes to issues that had never crossed my mind living in a country where human rights are protected by the law. In Dharamsala a large part of the population, don't receive the proper education about HIV/AIDS and lack the means or knowledge about prevention.

On a more poetic note, I would like to share some thoughts:

If you were god, what would you do?
This is a question that has been asked at HOPE centre – which offers conversational English classes to newly arrived Tibetan refugees.
It seems like a rhetorical question when you are speaking to people who escaped from their country, trekked for days in the mountains, in the snow without their families to the unknown of a different land.
I write these thoughts in a cute cafe with a good cup of latte. What else do I need in life? I have a caring, loving, supporting family that has, like any other family its own craziness. I have caring friends that surround me with love. I am volunteering on the other side of the globe. In the Himalaya Mountains.

Everything but the last part was probably in the Tibetans mind, which forced them to escape from their country. One morning while they were drinking their traditional black tea and eating Tibetan bread, watching their sheep's or goats that they raised from childhood, this memory probably looked far away and shrouded in fog.

I can’t imagine this kind of moment in my life, that everything I find important and care for is taken away from me, leaving me on my own and hopelessly incompetent.
Is that what happened to my parents when they immigrated from Russia to Israel "The Promised Land". They left everything they knew and had so many obstacles in those early years in Israel as much as our ancestors had in our long and far history. The wanderings to Israel "to the land that they were promised"

Every one of us is asking for stability in our lives, a safe place and for a place that our children will call "home".
We Jews found this home in Israel, we still struggle for this home every day and it sometimes seems we will continue to fight forevermore for it. The way things are going, even my kids will go to the army even if we hope that in the future - our kids won’t have to join the army - we won’t need an army in the peace days that we hope will come.

We as people, live to protect our children, our home, our mental and physical safety. The Tibetan community live with hope, a hope directed to the Dalai Lama, that one day he will succeed and bring them back to the land they lost, that they were forced to abandon. They live on a hope that their children and grandchildren will one morning be able to sit on the balcony with a steaming cup of traditional Tibetan tea, looking at the snow covered mountains. They will smile with tears and say - "here we did it".

In the end, I just want to quote something I was reading in the cafe I am sitting in:

"The Final Analysis -
People are often unreasonable, illogical,
and self-centered;
Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, People may accuse you
of selfish, ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway.
If you are successful, you will win some
false friends and some true enemies;
Succeed anyway.
If you are honest and frank,
people may cheat you;
Be honest and frank anyway.
What you spend years building, someone
could destroy overnight;
Build anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness,
they may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.
The good you do today,
people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have,
and it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you've got anyway.
You see, in the FINAL analysis,
it is between you and God;
It was never between you and them anyway”

Meeting the Karmapa

From Maayan Ravid (August 17, 2009)

On our last day in Dharamsalah emotions are raging.
Receiving ceremonial white scarves from everyone as a sign of respect and good luck, a tea party at the Women's association, goodbye lunches and events and individual goodbyes. It seems a part of us will never leave.

On my last day I had lunch with a monk who I'd taught English at our conversational English classes at the Hope Centre. He made me noodles in his room- 3 metres x 3 metres. Simple, basic, his life in a matchbox.

As we had our last conversation he explained to me that the Jewish people are very strong- they waited for their homeland for over 1000 years, Tibetans only waited for 50- it's OK. Then he continued to explain how Jews say: Next year in Jerusalem- leading to our mutual rephrasing- Next year in Lhasa- the ancient capital of Tibet. This for me is a final reminder of why we are here.

Last week we had an audience with the Karmapa. The 3rd holiest lama, whom we had the honour of meeting. This 23 year old man, chosen for this role at less then 10 years of age will be the future leader of Tibetans. We are close in age but worlds apart in responsibilities and life course. In response to our question he said:
"You are from the West and we, from East, different cultures are meeting, thank you for your contribution, and maybe take along some compassion from what you experience here, if every person passes on a little bit, the world will gradually improve."

So two final messages:
1) Next year in Jerusalem or Lhasa- safe and free
2) Sending you a dose of compassion- please pass it on!

Signing off from Dharamsalah,
Peace and Love to all,
Maayan